Cigarette extinguisher



y 19 F. P. LACKINGER 3,382,875

CIGARETTE EXTINGUISHER Filed Sept. 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR. FMN/(PZAcw/NGEK BY (A20 rue/es Aua (near-H525 msflrranusrs y 14, 8 F. P. LACKINGER 3,382,875

CIGARETTE EXTINGUISHER Filed Sept. 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY CAko mew Ma (Ma THE/es /-//.s Arron/E Y5 UnitedStates Patent 3,382,875 CIGARETTE EXTINGUISHER Frank P. Lackinger, 610 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15228 Filed Sept. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 487,755 3 Claims. (Cl. 131-237) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This novel cigarette extinguishing ash tray is provided with an upwardly extending anvil having a sloping surface to contact and cooperate with a complementary sloping surface on a movable cap supported from the base. These complementary contacting sloping surfaces'when deviating from the point of contact with each other provide a progressive positive grinding action that shortens the time of extinguishing the cigarette as by the twisting action of the foot on a pavement. The sloping surfaces may lie in flat planes or be frusto conical. The latter when provided with an outer cylinder on the cap can be employed to hold or support the cigarette on the sloping anvil surface.

This invention relates generally to cigarette extinguishers and more particularly to means for applying pressure to squeeze and slide the cigarette between cooperative surfaces to extinguish the same. This squeezing and sliding action pinches out the fire on the end of the cigarette as though it were stepped on, a usual method of extinguishing cigarettes.

Cigarette smokers usually twist the butt against an ash tray surface. This generally leaves a burning fragment that rekindles the stub and, if the tray is not clean, rekindles the other stubs as well.

When one steps on a lighted cigarette and twists his shoe against the side walk the effect is usually adequate to put the same out.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a cigarette extinguisher that has cooperative sloping surfaces movable relative to each other, the bottom being called the anvil, which is fastened to an ash tray base, and the top being termed the cap. The cigarette is held with its lighted end on the anvil sloping surface as the cooperative cap sloping surface approaches the anvil sloping surface. It engages the lighted end and the sloping surfaces coact against the cigarette butt and provides a sliding action. This is because both cooperative surfaces are sloping. This action simulates a sliding action by the shoe on the side walk.

Another object is the provision of a difference in the relative slope of the two cooperative surfaces. If the anvil sloping surface is steeper than that of the cap this sliding action is accentuated which is an important advantage of this invention.

Another object is the provision of play or looseness in the action of the cap as it descends to the anvil. Here again this play or wobbly looseness further accentuates the sliding action of the cooperating sloping surfaces in a sliding squeezing action to quickly and fully extinguish the lighted butt.

Another object is the provision of a biasing spring to immediately raise the cap after performing its work. The cigarette butt then falls down into the ash tray extinguisher.

Another object of this invention is the capability of employing a heat resistant plastic for the cooperating surfaces. A highly polished aluminum or steel also functions properly which is an advantage.

Another object of this invention is the provision of the shape of the anvil and cap surfaces. They may be 3,382,875 Patented May 14, 1968 straight or they may be curved as in a cooperative set of parabolic or frusto conical coaxial concentric members.

Another object is the provision of a rubber stop to engage the spring biased cap to keep it from engaging the metal when released to avoid excessive and disturbing noises.

Another object is the provision of cylindrical guard mounted on the movable or cap member and overlying the anvil member and provided with an irregular opening in its bottom edge to receive the butt ends and hold them on the cooperating surfaces as the cap is being pushed downwardly to extinguish the same.

Another object is the provision of an anvil member that has a frusto conical convex sloping surface. The lower two thirds slope at thirty degrees and the last third slopes off three degrees more. The cap that has a frusto conical concave sloping surface of thirty-two degrees will diverge similar to the other structures but will engage at the top of the thirty degree slope of the anvil. This with an opening between the extended surface from three-eighths to one-half inch provides a very good cigarette extinguisher.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification without limiting the invention or claims thereto, certain practical embodiments illustrating the principles of this invention wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a straight cigarette extinguisher comprising this invention,

FIG. 2 is a vew in section with parts broken away showing a frusto conical cigarette extinguisher.

FIG. 3 is a view in section showing a suction cup attaching means of the cigarette extinguisher of the inven tion.

FIG. 4 is a view partly in section showing a modified form of a cigarette extinguisher.

FIG. 5 is a view in section showing an anvil having a lower frusto conical section of thirty degrees and an upper frusto conical section of thirty-three degrees.

FIG. 6 is a view in section showing a larger hub section in the mating anvil and cap with the biasing spring in the anvil.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a straight anvil 1 having a straight upwardly sloping surface 2. This anvil may be made integral with the ash tray 3 having the rim 4 or it may be detachably secured thereto. On the back of the anvil 1 are spaced hinge supports 5 and 6 which loosely pivotally support the cap 7 having an operating knob 8. A coil spring 10 holds the cap upwardly as shown so that its sloping surface 11 cooperates as a downwardly sloping surface when the cap descends to crush the cigarette shown. Owing to the difference in the degree of slope of these cooperating surfaces the upper edge 12 of the sloping surface 2 will engage the upper edge 13 of the surface 11; however, the cigarette, when in position, will be squashed. The looseness of the pivotal action together with the difference in the degree of slope of the cooperative surfaces 2 and 11 will cause a combined sliding and crushing action on the lighted cigarette.

Referring to FIG. 2 the cigarette extinguisher shown has cooperative frusto conical surfaces 14 and 15, the former of which is on the circular anvil 16 that is secured to the ash tray 17 by the screw 18.

A tube or rod 29 of brass extends through the aluminum anvil 16 and its upper end provides a guide surface 21 for the cap 22 having a handle or knob 23 with a bore 24 that snugly fits the hollow stem 25 at the top of the upwardly extending cooperative surface 14 on the anvil 16.

The upper end of the guide surface 21 is bored in order to receive the coil compression spring 26. The top of the rod has a shoulder 27 to retain the O-ring 28 that is engaged by the upper end of the hollow stem to arrest the upward motion of the cap 22. As shown, pressure P is exerted on the knob of the cap to hold the cooperative surfaces 14 and 15 close together to illustrate their relative degree of slope. Also the hollow stem 25 be loose on the guide surface 21 to allow the cap to wobble and give a slidin Crushing action on the butt.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lower end of an anvil 30 is provided with a downwardly projecting screw 31 which threadably engages the screw socket 32. This socket is in turn imbedded in the upper end of the suction cup 33 which enables the cigarette extinguisher to be secured to any smooth surface such as a smooth glass ash tray. This enables the ash tray to be separated from the extinguisher for the purpose of washing, emptying, etc.

Referring to FIG. 4, the cigarette extinguisher anvil 34 is secured to the tray 35 and its upwardly cooperative surface 14 is spaced from the downwardly cooperative surface 15 of the cap 22. The guide surface 21 has a square rubber ring 36 fitted thereon and is held in place by the split ring 37 rather than a shoulder.

The cylindrical sleeve cigarette holder 38 has a shoulder 40 resting on the cap 22. This holder has different shape-d openings 41 and 42 on its bottom edge which rise above the bottom edge of the surface 14 to allow the insertion of a cigarette. The openings 41 and 42 hold the cigarette on the surface 14 which permits one to extinguish the cigarette by pushing down on the knob 23. When only one hand is free one can readily and properly extinguish his cigarette with such a structure comprisin this invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the ash tray 43 has the anvil 44 secured thereto by the screw 45. The frusto conical surface 46 of the anvil has a slope of 30 for two-thirds of the distance of the anvil surface to the circle of point 47, however, to the circle of point 48, the slope is 33. The under surface 50 of the cap 51 is a frusto conical surface of 32 and with nothing in the cigarette pincher, the two surfaces engage on the circle 47. But for the last third and the first two-thirds of these cooperating surfaces they are free or spaced from each other. Although the cooperating surfaces 12 and 13 of FIG. 1 and 14 and 15 of FIGS. 2 and 4 may fully engage, it is preferable that they be respectively 30 and 32 on the anvil of the cap. The opening or open spacing of the cap in FIGS. 2 and 4 may be one-half inch. The opening between the cap and anvil of the structure of FIGS. 5 and 6 is three-eighths of an inch. These different height anvils have different advantages with these varying degrees of openings between the extended cap and anvil.

The structure of FIG. 6 is similar to that of FIG. 5. However, the two-thirds section 46 ends in the guide cylinder 52 operating in the chamber 53 of the cap 51 and the under surface 50 of the cap, which is 32 relative to the axis 49, extends only two-thirds the way to the guide chamber 53.

In both FIGS. 5 and 6, the stem 54 is fixed in the cap 51 and may be hexagonal stainless or brass. There is no play laterally. The lower end has a groove for the O-ring 55 which engages the stop shoulder 56 and the rounded end of the stem 54 enters a dished socket 57 in the spring head 58 the underside of which has a stub to center the spring 60. The other end of the spring seats on the sleeve 61 that has a press fit into the walls of the chamber 62. To mount the O-ring 55 on the groove at the end of the stem 55, a sleeve with a bone larger than the stem 54 but smaller than the O-ring, forces the O-ring in place to lock the cap in position and function as a rubber stop on the shoulder 56.

When inserting the lit cigarette under the extended cap it should just rest on the anvil with the lighted end wholly within the cap. Upon depressing the cap the light is swiftly pinched out and its end of the cigarette closed behind the previous position of the fire. This insures the complete extinguishnient by a simple downward push on the cap.

I claim:

1. A cigarette extinguisher consisting of an ash tray having an upwardly extending anvil with an upper frustoconical sloping surface, a cap having a lower face having a frusto-conical surface, a guide axially disposed in said anvil and said cap to provide axial sliding movement of the latter with respect to said anvil, the base of each frusto-conical surface being normal to the axis of said guide when the cap is moved toward said anvil, one of said cooperative frusto-conical surfaces deviating from the other adjacent the smaller ends of said frusto-conical surfaces.

2. A cigarette extinguisher consisting of an ash tray base having an upwardly extending anvil with an upper frusto-conical sloping surface and a cap having a lower face having a frusto-conical sloping surface, said cap movably supported from said ash tray base to approach and contact said sloping surfaces to crush the lighted end of a cigarette therebctween to allow the residue to drop to said ash tray base when pressure on said cap is released, a cylindrical holder mounted on said cap with its lower edge extending therebelow and below the lower edge of said anvil sloping surface, said lower edge having openings to receive and support a cigarette with its lighted end resting on said anvil sloping surface.

3. The cigarette extinguisher of claim 1 wherein said cap is spring biased to raise and maintain its cooperative lower sloping surface spaced from said anvil sloping surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,802,569 4/1931 Neahr 131-237 1,830,590 11/1931 Burton 131-237 1,948,880 2/1934 Hamm 131-256 1,950,657 3/1934 Burton 131-237 2,187,896 1/1940 Barker 131-235 2,228,008 1/1941 Groff 131-237 X 2,600,724 6/1952 Badner 131-237 2,697,440 12/1954 Luks 131-237 2,777,449 1/1957 Foster 131-256 FOREIGN PATENTS 244,220 12/ 1925 Great Britain.

357,851 10/ 1931 Great Britain.

436,775 10/1935 Great Britain.

183,282 6/ 1936 Switzerland.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Primary Examiner. ALDRICH F. MEDBERY, Examil'ler. 

